Better Late Than Never: Jim Morrison Could Score a Pardon

Gov could let dead Doors rocker off the hook for Miami indecent exposure bust

The last days of Charlie Crist as Florida's governor could be Strange Days indeed.

Over 40 years after rebel rocker Jim Morrison was arrested for exposing himself during a boozy show in Miami, he may be about to receive a posthumous pardon from the outgoing Sunshine State gov.

Crist, who leaves office in January and must submit requests for clemency by December 9, is mulling over whether to let Morrison, who died in July 1971, off the hook for profanity and indecent exposure charges, according to AFP.

"The governor is considering the clemency," Crist's deputy press secretary Chris Cate told AFP.

The lead singer of The Doors was allegedly drunk when he displayed his penis and began yelling at the crowd during the March 1, 1969 show at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Coconut Grove.

Four days later, a warrant was issued for his arrest and after Morrison was convicted, he appealed. He died in 1971 in Paris at the age of 27, while he was out on bail and the convictions were still in the process of appeal.

Crist has previously considered a pardon for Morrison, and if he submits a request for clemency, it will be decided by a four-member body that includes Crist, the state's chief financial officer, attorney general and agriculture commissioner, and requires a majority vote to be approved.

High profile pardons for performers aren’t unprecedented.

New York’s governor pardoned Lenny Bruce in 1965 for an obscenity conviction, Dave Diamond, a TV producer who has spearheaded the campaign to clear Morrison’s name, reminded The Hill newspaper.

Even the Vatican forgave John Lennon, 42 years after the musician claimed The Beatles were more popular than Jesus.
 

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